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Porsche CEO Matthias Müeller talks racing and road cars in interview

September 9, 2012

A Porsche 911 GT3 races through the streets of Baltimore recently during an ALMS event. Porsche CEO Matthias Müeller was on hand. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Matthias Müeller, chairman and CEO of Porsche AG, attended the Grand Prix of Baltimore during the first week of September to witness his first-ever American Le Mans Series race in person. Autoweek and other select media sat down with the 59-year-old to hear his thoughts on Porsche's racing and road-car futures.

What do you think of the Baltimore event?

Matthias Müeller: From my point of view, it's a little bit of basic racing, not so much ballyhoo around the race. I suppose the people which are here are very interested in racing and not something else.

Can you update us on Porsche's 2014 LMP1 race-car project?

MM: It's in the time schedule. We had a lot of work to do in terms of infrastructure in Germany, but we did it very well. We have a new building for our motorsports department. Of course we've got some people from outside to give a lot of expertise in racing . . . we will do our homework and from my point of view you should see the car for the first time [at the 12 Hours of Sebring] in 2014.

(Editor's note:This interview was conducted prior to the announcement that the ALMS and Grand-Am will merge their series for 2014. LMP1 cars may or may not be allowed at the 12 Hours of Sebring by then.)

Can you confirm any details of the car and its hybrid system? Will it use a battery system rather than a flywheel system?

MM: Not today.

Will Porsche contest the full World Endurance Championship in year one of the program?

MM: Of course. We will build the LMP1 car not only for Le Mans but for the WEC series, and we suppose there are at least six [WEC] races all over the world plus Le Mans, so we will see where the events will take place.

When is the first test?

MM: We are testing every day. (Laughing)

Will you race against Audi, which, like Porsche, is a Volkswagen-owned marque?

MM: At that time the decision is that Audi takes place in LMP1, and we [do] also, so Audi will be a competitor, yes.

Will there be an American team, perhaps an association with Roger Penske as in the recent past, for example?

MM: For the LMP1? No.

Does Porsche see any attraction in joining something like the Izod IndyCar Series?

MM: No. We have no idea about that. You said open wheel? No. There is no idea [from Porsche] about [joining] open-wheel series. We stick with the GT Series and of course as we discussed with the LMP1 series for 2014. That is our decision.

Will you continue to run the 911 via a customer program or change it into a factory program?

MM: Customer motorsports is essential for Porsche, but nevertheless we have to make up our mind whether we give more or less input from the factory. It depends on the situation. We will meet.

Is there an update on the 918 supercar?

MM: Frankly speaking, I drove the car two days ago and it was amazing. It's also on a time schedule and the car will be ready in the beginning or middle of next year. The customers will get the cars after [the upcoming winter] holidays.

Is there any plan to race the 918?

MM: No, it is no race car. There could be a possibility [down the road], but up to now there is no plan.

Has the much-publicized DeltaWing project changed how Porsche approaches motorsports in terms of thinking outside the box, or at least caused you to raise an eyebrow at such a concept?

MM: I have no idea about that. Porsche has not given any expertise or support into a project like that.

What about drivers for your LMP1 project?

MM: We have no decision about the drivers. But of course we have contracts with some of the drivers you know, and some of the drivers which have been very successful with Audi [in LMP1 racing] also have contracts with Porsche. We are looking forward to having the best drivers for the program.

Are you interested in expanding the racing version of the Cayman into a more professional level than it is now?

MM: That's an interesting question, because we thought about the Cayman and a GT4 series, but it depends on the regulations and some possibilities in the future. We could imagine that the Cayman could also be a race car. But there is no decision now.

Will the 911 remain Porsche's official GT entry for the foreseeable future?

MM: For sure.

Any thought of changing the Cayman or the 911 from their traditional six-cylinder engines?

MM: At the beginning we will have the same engines as in the 911. For the next generation of the 991 [the new 911] we think to have turbo engines and for the second generation of the 982 [the upcoming Cayman] and 991 we have no decision now, but you know downsizing in engines is very important especially in countries where we have [strong] CO2 regulations. We will see what the future will bring.

Do you have a timeline for the return of the 911 Turbo?

MM: It will start production in 2014.

What about weight reduction there? Less weight is one of the key engineering points of the 991 in general.

MM: The weight reduction of the 991 in comparison to the 997 [that it replaced] was about more than [200 pounds] and it will be the same with the 911 Turbo. Porsche is [focused on] that question and we've worked very hard to reduce the weight of all of our cars, not only of our sports cars but also the Cayenne and Panamera.

What do you see as the growth opportunity in the small SUV market, considering Porsche's upcoming Macan SUV?

MM: First of all, we have to say we have been a little bit surprised by the success we have had with the Cayenne, also with the second generation. We are very successful in the Panamera segment. So it is important for Porsche, of course. That is also the reason that we will have a smaller SUV to start production next year called Macan. We expect [to build] about 50,000 units every year so we will be more successful in the SUV segment.

This is an ongoing and somewhat tired point, but there are Porsche purists who still seem to think you're spreading into too many categories and diluting the brand. What do you say to them?

MM: The core of Porsche is the sports-car segment. The most important icon of Porsche is the 911, and that will be also the same in the future.

From my point of view we say, OK, we have a sports-car company, we have the 911, we have the Cayman, we have the Boxster; and also the Cayenne and the Panamera are sports cars maybe in another size.

From our point of view in the SUV segment, the Cayenne is the most [sporty] car and in the limousine designation the Panamera is the most [sporty] car. I think it fits all of our customers. For the American market, it is the same as for Europe and Asia.

What is the present opinion regarding Porsche possibly offering four-cylinder cars in the future?

MM: Downsizing is a topic, and we have to make up our mind what the right amount of cylinders will be in the future. From my point of view, the 911 is well-prepared with the six-cylinder for the future, but within the Boxster and Cayman I could imagine we could have a four-cylinder boxer engine.

Will the Porsche “DNA,” so to speak, continue to be separate from Audi, particularly with diesels?

MM: We always have discussions in the Volkswagen group about the position of the brands. The decision now is that Porsche is the most [sporty] brand in the group and the question about diesel will be decided by the customer.

If the customer wants to have a diesel—[we just] had a [press program] in Alaska with the Cayenne diesel, and the customers and the press have been very keen on that—so we will have a [sporty] diesel also, and that should have more performance than another diesel of Audi, for example.

I suppose in the future always there is a question what is the right future for engines? But from my point of view the [gasoline] engine and the diesel engine are not at the end and there will be more development also, and on the other end we will have hybrid.